Praire Dogs Gone Wild!
by futbalfreak18
Summary: Four, Nine, Rose, and K-9 end up on a planet of golden grain and run into some less than friendly prairie dogs. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Prairie Dogs Gone Wild!

By futbalfreak18 (a.k.a. baka ranger red)

With help from baka rangers blue and yellow

No, I don't lay claim on any parts of Doctor Who. This story is based on the prompt: tree.

* * *

"Sooooo…I don't think this is Black Pool Pleasure Beach."

Rose was hanging half-way out of the TARDIS, taking in the sea of golden grain they had landed in. It was quite beautiful. And expansive. All she could see was grain.

And more grain.

For miles.

And more miles…

"Yeah, guys I don't think we're even in Black Pool. Or England for that matter," Rose said, turning back inside to find the ninth Doctor chasing the fourth Doctor around the TARDIS counsel. K-9 was watching from one of the other hallways leading into the room, as the ninth Doctor made futile grabs at the fourth Doctor.

"I thought you said you could get us there!" yelled the ninth Doctor. He dashed around the left of the circular TARDIS counsel, but the fourth Doctor just mirrored his movements, effectively switching places with him.

"Well, I can," the fourth Doctor said grinning, "it might just take me a few tries." He threw his scarf around his neck, and winked to Rose.

The ninth Doctor stood still and straightened his shoulders. He gave a low growl.

"I can't believe you. First, you convince me to let you drive, and then you don't even land us on the right planet. Then," the Doctor glared at his fourth regeneration, "You have the audacity to…to wink at Rose?" His voice had slowly dropped.

The ninth Doctor was starting to get quiet.

That was Rose's cue. The ninth doctor only got quiet when he was pissed. Really pissed. Like when the Daleks were invading. Or the Cybermen. Or when he thought Rose was in danger. Or when the fourth Doctor was around. The fourth Doctor actually got the quiet treatment a lot, when she thought about it.

Rose glanced over at K-9 who was already staring at her intently. She nodded.

"Doctor?" Rose called out, as she stepped up the ramp away from the door. Simultaneously, K-9 began to roll into the room.

Both time lords snapped their heads towards her.

"Yes, Rose?" they intoned simultaneously.

She stepped towards the ninth Doctor. It only took a few steps for her to be standing directly in front of him. Slowly, she wrapped her arms about his waist, intertwining her fingers underneath his black leather jacket. All the while she kept her liquid-gold eyes locked on his own grey orbs. He had stopped all movement entirely, and just stared at her, dumbstruck. Tentatively, she stepped up on her tip toes, and just barely touched her lips to his. She could feel his smile, as sounds of the fourth Doctor gagging resounded around the room. Right on cue as the fourth Doctor had predictably lunged forward to intervene, K-9, as planned, had rolled over the end of the ridiculously long scarf the Doctor wore about him.

Rose returned her thoughts to the Doctor in her arms, not that they had been gone long. She felt the ninth Doctor's arms wrap around behind her, pulling her close. Gently, he slipped his tongue into her mouth to taste her further. Rose felt her insides melt, and her knees go weak.

And then he dipped her. Rose could vaguely hear the fourth Doctor's heightened struggle, but all of her thoughts had been thrown from her head. How did things always end up like this? She smiled. She didn't really mind…

The ninth Doctor suddenly pulled away, barely pulling Rose back onto her own feet before dashing away to where the fourth Doctor stood. Rose grabbed onto the railing for support since her legs had turned to jelly.

Rose looked up as whirrings and clickings reached her ears.

"What are you doing now?" the ninth Doctor said, his tone oddly calm.

"Getting us to the closest desert planet to drop you off," the fourth Doctor said, a frown planted on his face. The ninth Doctor stopped moving. He just smiled.

The fourth Doctor stopped his movements.

"What no explosion? No 'what are you doing'? No 'how dare you touch my TARDIS'?" The fourth Doctor was waving his arms about.

"Nah." The ninth Doctor's grin broadened. He leaned against a nearby piece of railing.

Rose just stared. What in the universe…?

K-9 rolled over to her feet. "I think the one Doctor-Master is experiencing a momentary loss of sanity due to his recent encounter with Mistress," he intoned.

Rose smiled. Well, at least she wasn't the only one.

The fourth Doctor shrugged, and continued moving around the TARDIS counsel. Wait, if the ninth Doctor wasn't going to stop the fourth Doctor leaving him on some desert planet, that meant she'd have to. She couldn't just stand by while the trio was being split, even if it would only be temporary. Especially not after THAT kind of a kiss. Besides, the Doctors hadn't even checked out this planet at all. There could be something cool in the giant field outside. Maybe. It could happen.

"Doctor?" she called out.

"Yes?" They both turned again. She smiled mischievously, the light in her golden orbs dancing.

"Wait a sec. I think I left the door open." Rose walked towards the ramp leading towards the door. She paused. She turned to the Doctors and winked.

"Catch me…if you can." She said the last part of the phrase tauntingly, before sprinting out of the TARDIS and into the golden fields that waited.

Rose dashed among the tufts of grain. Far behind her, she could hear the whirring and humming of K-9 as he rolled through the foliage. Closer to her, she could hear two pairs of footsteps following her. Rose giggled. Lots of things could happen in a field.

Rose took a sharp turn to the left and ran for a while, before taking another sharp turn to the right. She kept on running and making more turns, but she couldn't lose the footsteps behind her. They'd come closer, then fade, but they would always come back again. K-9 couldn't be heard at all anymore. This couldn't last forever, and she had no idea where the TARDIS was anymore. Now that she was out here, Rose realized she wasn't exactly sure what her plans were…

Rose's foot connected with something hard, and she fell to the ground with a thud that resounded through her body. She groaned a little. Looking behind her, Rose saw that her foot had gotten stuck on a massive root. Rose shrugged a little as she got up. It wasn't unusual to trip on a root. The Doctors' footsteps had faded for the moment. Rose walked a few steps away.

And then she did a double take.

Grain roots don't get that big! This thing was huge…enormous…giant! She jogged back over, and bent down to examine it. Was it even a root? Rose could hear the Doctors' footsteps slowly getting louder as she followed it. It dipped in and out of the ground, slowly getting larger, and Rose began to notice other roots running parallel to it.

The root stopped at the base of a giant tree trunk. Rose looked up. Green stretched out all above her, blocking out the bright sunlight above. Her mouth opened in amazement. How had she not noticed this from the TARDIS?

Rose could hear the sound of bickering behind her, and she turned to see the tops of the Doctors' heads above the waving grain. Oh crap.

Rose turned back to the giant tree in front of her. She could reach one of the lower branches… Rose jumped and grabbed on. With some effort, she managed to pull herself up onto a branch about the height of the fourth Doctor's head. She proceeded to climb onto a branch about an additional five feet above that. Rose swung one of her legs over it so that she was straddling it with her back leaning against the trunk of the tree.

And she waited. Because what fun was a game of tag if you didn't taunt the opponents a little bit? Rose giggled and smiled, feeling mischievous.


	2. Chapter 2

Prairie Dogs Gone Wild!

By futbalfreak18 (a.k.a. baka ranger red)

With help from baka rangers blue and yellow

* * *

Now, how to tease her Doctors? Rose took a moment to roll up the sleeves of her shirt to her elbows and fluff out her hair. She wasn't exactly wearing the most provocative clothing, but with her own personal flare Rose knew she'd manage. Her grin spread wider.

"Me? It was K-9 who turned us in the wrong direction." The fourth Doctor's voice rang out across the field.

"You were the own who said to turn left the first time. You can't blame that on poor K-9." Although, the ninth Doctor sounded a little peeved, from Rose's vantage point she could see the grin splitting across his face. She giggled. Ah, but she must be quiet. The Doctors were "hunting Wose".

That thought only made her laugh harder. Rose's sides were splitting. She grabbed onto the branch she was sitting on, just to make sure she didn't fall off.

"Rose?"

Oh crap.

"Rose, what are you doing up there?" the ninth Doctor asked.

"Well, I happen to be sitting at the moment" Rose replied. She lifted her eyebrows a little and put on her cutest pout. Both Doctors swallowed. "Though you know, it is awfully lonely up here." She made sure to stress, how truly lonely she felt, while flashing her most seductive smile. Both Doctors blushed profusely.

Wow, that had been easy. Did Rose just have that effect on her Doctors or did they have something for trees? Rose didn't know, but she couldn't say she honestly cared as she watched her two Doctors scrambling over each other to climb into the tree. She only watched them bicker for a moment before climbing higher into the tree.

"Hey, wait" the fourth Doctor called, while continuing his fight with the ninth Doctor to reach the tree first. "I'd bet my jelly babies, you have some mischievous, evil plan. Where are you going?"

Rose giggled. "Up" she replied, and gave a forceful push with her right leg, catapulting her body up to the next branch. She couldn't see the Doctors through the branch she now rested on, but their banter carried up through the trees.

"Move your foot, its in the way."

"My foot? Your curly hair is blocking my vision."

"Well, good 'cause I'm going to get there first." Rose could just see the taunting look on the fourth Doctor's face. His eyebrows would be raised, a broad grin splitting his face in two. He'd have a look in his eyes that just spilled over with his mocking attitude.

"OOOFFFF! Hey, you didn't have to do that. That hurt." The fourth Doctor's voice rang out clearly.

"Awww, I didn't mean to. It was that ludicrously long scarf of yours. Don't blame me." The ninth Doctor's voice dripped with derision. Oh, Rose did have such fun, playing mischievous tricks on her Doctors.

She could see the fourth Doctor's curly hair beginning to peak through some of the leaves, so Rose started to climb higher.

People always told Rose that if she was an animal she'd be some sort of cat. Gracefully, she jumped and swung herself from branch to branch, slowly climbing higher into the tree. After a few minutes, she began to see light filtering through the broad leaves of the trees, coloring her face and clothes a light shade of green. Another few branches, and Rose's head burst through the top layer of leaves out into the bright sunlight above.

Rose's jaw dropped. All around her for miles and miles were the fields of golden grain, waving in the light breeze. She stared. It was beautiful. It was like something out of that American song about purple mountains. Rose smiled. The crystal mountains of New Odaroloc were better.

A hand wrapped around each of Rose's ankles where she stood on one of the tree's branches.

And then she fell…

Right into the arms of her Doctors.

"There you are!" the fourth Doctor said, a smile bending from ear to ear. He had leaves all through his hair, and his scarf was tangled all about his limbs. He had one arm underneath her knees and another behind her back, like a bride.

"Rose! Fantastic!" The ninth Doctor was smiling too, and just like the fourth Doctor he had a hand underneath her knees and back.

"Hey, wait! I caught her first; she's mine!"

"I've known her longer than you!"

"So?"

"So," the ninth Doctor gave a light tug, "she's mine!"

"Well, if she's yours, and I'm you, that means she's mine." The fourth Doctor gave a tug.

"Now, don't I get a say in this" Rose interrupted. The ninth Doctor grinned.

He leaned down and gently claimed her lips.

"No" he said.

"That's what I was going to do." The fourth Doctor pouted.

Rose leaned up to kiss him. When she felt him begin to melt, she pulled away. She could be such a tease.

"There. Now we're even." Rose smirked.

"Awww." The fourth Doctor pouted. "But he got an extra kiss back in the TARDIS."

"Well, as cool as this tree is, we could head back to the TARDIS and…" The trio grinned. The ninth Doctor began to nuzzle at Rose's neck.

"Uuhh, Mistress?" Rose looked down.

"K-9?" The fourth Doctor's hand had begun to rub up and down one of Rose's calves.

"Mistress, could you come help me?"

"She's busy, K-9." Both Doctors intoned, simultaneously.

"Mistress, this is urgent."

Rose gave both of the Doctors a look, and they set her down on the huge branch protruding from the giant tree. Carefully, she picked her way back down the tree.

"What is it K-9? Did you get stuck on a tree root?"

"No, Mistress."

"What's the matter th…" Rose had reached the lowest layer of branches, and found herself face to face with a giant prairie dog.


	3. Chapter 3

Prairie Dogs Gone Wild!

By futbalfreak18 (a.k.a. baka ranger red)

With help from baka rangers blue and yellow

* * *

Prairie dogs are cute. Prairie dogs are sweet. If meerkats can get their own show, Rose thought that prairie dogs deserved on too. But somehow Rose found the giant prairie dog now staring her in the face, to be more startling than cute. Maybe that was because it smelled. Or maybe just because it wasn't tiny. Yeah, tiny things are always cuter.

Rose gave a weak smile.

"Hello."

The huge prairie dog stood on K-9, who was tied up and suspended from the next branch over. K-9 rolled his wheels, in a useless attempt to do something useful. Meanwhile, the prairie dog just stood and stared at Rose.

"I did not mean to be caught, Mistress. I just-"

"Don't worry about it, K-9" Rose interrupted. She glanced behind her to see that the two Doctors had joined her on the branch she stood on. This was a huge tree if three people could stand comfortably on one branch. The prairie dog atop of K-9 grunted. Rose looked down to see a swarm of other prairie dogs at the foot of the tree, all clamoring on top of each other to get closer. The prairie dog on K-9 began to speak.

"You have defiled the Great Tree by playing your games of love among its branches. You must pay. The girl will be our sacrifice. Now, depart from here or pay with your lives. And take your box and this metal one with you."

"Hold on a second!" The fourth Doctor stepped onto Rose's branch and placed a protective arm around her waist.

"Yeah, wait up now" the ninth Doctor chimed in, stepping to Rose's other side.

"You can't just take Rose."

"She travels with us, and we won't let her just be some sacrifice."

The prairie dog looked down for a moment, as if pondering.

"Fine," it said, "You will all be sacrifices to the Great Tree."

The Doctors' eyes bugged out. The ninth Doctor was the first to have his orbs return to their normal size and position.

"We won't have Rose be a sacrifice" he said, his attention fully on the rodent in front of him. "Give us two days. We will find other gifts for the Great Tree. If we fail, to find something suitable, then you may sacrifice him." He pointed to the fourth Doctor. "And we will leave you in peace."

The prairie dog seemed to think for a moment.

"You may have one day. We will keep the female one and metal one. If you fail, then all three of you will be sacrificed. We are not unreasonable. You may come down in peace." The prairie dog made various bark-like noises to the others below and he began to be lowered with K-9.

"Unreasonable, my-" the fourth Doctor whispered in Rose's ear.

Rose grabbed the ninth Doctor's jacket.

"Wait a second, I'm going to wait alone, while you to find some other gift for this tree? Y'know I would have really liked some say in this."

"You'll have K-9. It was the best I could do on such short notice. Besides," he leant in and kissed her, "trust me. I'll make this work."

"Well, when you put it like that." Rose smiled for a moment, before frowning and poking her finger into his chest. "But you better talk to me first next time, before you go offering me up as a hostage to a bunch of huge prairie dogs."

"Don't worry," the fourth Doctor said as he began to nuzzle Rose's neck, "I'll make his life a living hell for the next day, while we-"

"Oh no you won't. I want you two to cooperate because if you don't do a good job, I'll be sacrificed to a tree, and that's not exactly something on my list of to-do's." She pulled both of the Doctors towards her so her mouth was hovering just inches from their ears. "Now, despite being made a captive without my input, as long as you two get me and K-9 out of here with all of our limbs and parts intact, you will be rewarded."

Both of the Doctors ears perked.

"And I thought just rescuing you would be enough of a perk" the fourth Doctor said.

"Well, lets just say, I'd rather like to live to continue what we started in this tree." Rose looked into each of the Doctor's eyes, and lost herself for a moment.

"Uh, Mistress? I think our captors are getting a little antsy."

Each of the Doctors kissed one of Rose's cheeks.

"Leave it to me." The said in unison, and they each gave a characteristic Doctor grin. The trio climbed down from the tree, with some help from the fourth Doctor's scarf. Rose watched the Doctors completely ignore the prairie dogs swarming around their knees and run off. She knew they wouldn't leave her behind. Even so, she followed her prairie dog captors reluctantly. Why did she have to be the captive? The damsel in distress just wasn't her role.

Rose looked around for K-9.

"Mistress?"

"There you are K-9. How are you doing after being hung upside down for so long?"

"I am fine, Mistress. I didn't mean to be captured, but I fell into one of their holes as I was following you."

"That's all right. Do you know who they are?"

"According to my memory banks they go by the name Marmotini, based on the tribe name of their early ancestors, the earth prairie dog. This is around the year 4052 by my calculation."

"So this lot are related to the cute prairie dogs from back on earth."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Then how did they end up here?"

"It was an experiment in genetic engineering. In the year 3232 on earth, people grew prairie dogs to larger sizes based on interests in how "adorable" and "cute" they were. When the experiment's results were met with less than public approval, this planet, Corax, was built and the prairie dogs moved to it."

"This planet was built?"

"Yes, in the year 3236."

"So that's why the entire planet is a grain field."

"Yes, Mistress."

"So why is there a huge tree out there."

"I do not know, Mistress."

"Ok, how have the Marmotini developed speech then, if they are just larger versions of the prairie dogs back home."

"They haven't, Mistress. The TARDIS is translating for you."

"Ah, right."

"Then why couldn't I understand when the one sitting on top of you barked down to all of those at the base of the tree?"

"It must've been a tribal language or dialect, Mistress."

The pair stopped moving as the crowd of prairie dogs around them halted. The one prairie dog from earlier stepped forward to them. Rose noticed that it had a prominent tuft of white hair on its forehead.

"This is where you will stay." Rose noticed the hole in the ground nearby. "You will be under a constant guard. Any attempts to escape will mean the sacrificial rites will be carried out early."

Rose and K-9 were shoved down into the hole, and the prairie dog crowd seemed to disperse. It was damp and dark. Rose looked towards K-9.

"Well K-9, we've got 24 hours. How's about a game of twenty questions, eh?"


	4. Chapter 4

Prairie Dogs Gone Wild!

By futbalfreak18 (a.k.a. baka ranger red)

With help from baka rangers blue and yellow

No claim. None at all. TT

* * *

As it turned out, K-9 was not the kind of dog one should play twenty questions with. Infinite memory banks were definitely an advantage. After a few rounds, Rose decided her time would be much better spent doing something else. Like writing her autobiography. Or counting the hairs on the back of her hand. Or anything…

Rose looked around the damp hole she and K-9 were trapped in. There had to be something in here she could do. Lessee… to the left was dirt. To the right…was dirt. Up, down, and all around there was only dirt.

Rose curled her knees in tight, and wrapped her arms around them. This was going to be a long twenty-four hours.

With one of her fingers, Rose bent down and began to draw pictures in the dirt. First was the fourth Doctor…and then the ninth…and K-9...and finally her. Her finger paused, caked in mud.

"K-9, isn't there anything we can do?"

"Besides play 20 questions, Mistress?"

"Yeah, 'cause you know you cheat at it." A vague, metallic chuckle rang around the burrow.

"Well, Mistress. My data banks indicate that jails are created to not be mentally stimulating or comfortable. Therefore, my calculations suggest that the answer is no. Obviously, we cannot play games involving hands or opposable thumbs, we cannot…"

Rose looked towards the ceiling with the fervent hope that this tear she had gotten him on would end soon.

"…we cannot make finger puppets or hand shadows…"

No, he still wasn't done. Rose glanced toward the opening of their prison. She could see the feet of at least two prairie dog guards. Tall blades of golden grain, bending slightly in the light wind, could be seen beyond them. Given Rose had no idea where the TARDIS was of if it was even on this planet still, escape was, in all likelihood, impossible.

Rose sighed.

What was she going to do?

Well, there was always…

It had worked before.

Once…

Sort of…


	5. Chapter 5

Prairie Dogs Gone Wild!

By futbalfreak18 (a.k.a. baka ranger red)

With help from baka rangers blue and yellow

-sings operatically- No claim, no claim, nooooooo claaaaiiiiiimmmm!! -as a result, no one ever went to the opera again-

* * *

The next day, Rose found herself tied up, gagged, and hung upside down from the Great Tree. K-9 hung next to her. Rose still wanted to know how prairie dogs could tie anything. And how were "acts of love" in this tree against prairie dog law, but somehow hanging two prisoners from the same tree was all right? If it wasn't for the fact the TARDIS was missing, Rose would have told K-9 to stun all of the giant prairie dogs. Rose groaned a little and closed her eyes.

The familiar sound of the TARDIS making a landing made Rose look up. Well… try to look up. The TARDIS door slammed. The two Doctors ran towards her.

"Rose!"

"Rose, what happened?!"

"How are you?"

"Did they-?"

"How long-?"

Rose made mumbling noises. Not only had they asked enough questions to make her eyes cross and her head spin…she was still gagged!

The Doctors were only five feet away when two of the prairie dogs stepped in between them and Rose. The ninth Doctor scowled. The fourth Doctor crossed his arms.

They stepped to the left. So did the prairie dogs. The stepped to the right. As did the prairie dogs. The ninth Doctor growled. Even tied up, upside down, and gagged, Rose found that sexy. Incredibly so…

The fourth Doctor looked confused.

"Rose, what is going on here?"

"Mmprgh, mmmemmprh, mememmmprgh!"

"Oh. Right." The fourth Doctor turned his attention to the prairie dog guards. He pointed dramatically towards the pair.

"What happened here, you foul-breathed, butt-licking, oversized rodents?"

If looks could kill, the fourth Doctor would have been on his last regeneration.

"You are the ones facing punishment. Do not try us." The prairie dog on the left said.

"Then explain to me what is going on. No one ties Rose and hangs her upside down from a tree. Or K-9." The fourth Doctor flicked his scarf over his shoulder. The ninth Doctor added a scowl for emphasis.

The prairie dogs were silent for a moment before the one on the left took a half step forward. Both of the Doctors bored their eyes through the prairie dogs skull.

"The female started it. According to the original guards, she first wandered around her cell seemingly aimlessly. However, soon enough she had a whispered conversation with the metal one. She then proceeded to attempt to awe and distract our guards with feats of magic. Our guards did not falter." Both prairie dogs had slightly smug expressions covering their fuzzy faces. "Seeing her original plot fail, the female continued to start asking the guards all about our lifestyle and in return sharing details about her own life on some planet called 'Urth'." The speaking prairie dog smiled, as if he found the name funny. "However," the prairie dog continued, his face returning to its look of anger and disapproval, "after learning about our leaders, she suggested that she could make an excellent prairie dog queen." The second prairie dog growled.

"No female challenges authority here." The first prairie dog spat out. "Her words were rude, insulting, and indicative of underlying motives. That is her crime. This," the prairie dog gestured to where Rose and K-9 hung like Christmas ducks, "is there punishment."

"What about K-9? He didn't do anything wrong." The ninth Doctor broke in, before the fourth Doctor had opened his mouth.

"He was an accomplice."

The ninth Doctor glared. No one, especially not prairie dogs, would ever treat his Rose this way without getting…

The fourth Doctor pulled him into a huddle before he could finish the thought.

From her tree, Rose watched and waited. If she had felt useless before…

The Doctors only spent a few moments in their secretive huddle. Their eyes constantly darted towards Rose. Just as K-9 was about to start playing the theme to Jeopardy, when the fourth Doctor returned to face the prairie dogs, and the ninth Doctor dashed into the TARDIS. He came out carrying a black, draw-string bag about the size of briefcase.

"Although," the fourth Doctor began now that his counterpart had returned, "neither I nor myself," he pointed to the ninth Doctor, "are in agreement with the current status our companions are in, we will continue to present to you our alternate gifts to the Great Tree, seeing as there is no way to change our companions status without pissing you lot off and engaging in warfare with heavy artillery." He said all this in one breadth.

"So." The fourth Doctor clapped his hands. "First up, we have a bag of the finest soil in this galaxy, from planet Earth."

The ninth Doctor had a surly expression on his face as he pulled out what looked like a Ziploc baggy filled with dirt from someone's backyard.

The prairie dogs shook their heads. The one that had stepped forward earlier spoke. "We have enough soil."

The fourth Doctor looked a little crestfallen. Rose certainly hoped that hadn't been their best bet.

"Well then, how about our second lovely gift" the fourth Doctor said. "This is a bag of the purest water in the galaxy."

The ninth Doctor pulled out a large crate of bottle water from the bag. Rose rolled her eyes from the tree where she hung. Maybe there was just too much blood in her head, but it seemed to her that the Doctors had copped out. They'd had a whole day! And especially when time didn't matter to them, they should have definitely been able to get the actual thing. Didn't they want to rescue her?

The prairie dogs shook their heads to the water too.

"Okay then," the fourth Doctor continued, "we also have some fine fertilizer."

The ninth Doctor pulled out a bag of Miracle Gro.

The prairie dogs shook their heads.

"Sunlight?" the fourth Doctor asked.

The ninth Doctor grabbed, what looked like to Rose anyway, an empty jar. She groaned. She was going to be sacrificed by prairie dogs to a huge tree. It was the death she'd always hoped for, she thought sarcastically.

The prairie dogs meanwhile, were beginning to look like bobble-heads.

"Air from my lungs?" The fourth Doctor looked desperate. "Its really quite intimate."

The prairie dogs didn't even bother to shake their heads this time, they just frowned.

Rose had closed her eyes. They must have something up their sleeve, but she didn't much appreciate all this time they were wasting as much as she liked hanging upside down from trees.

"Ok then. We have one final thing to offer you." The fourth Doctor waited for the ninth Doctor as he pulled a tiny, young tree out of the great bag of everything.

"This," the fourth Doctor went on, "is a tree." He paused.

The prairie dogs did not shake their heads. Both Doctors grinned, widely and looked to each other for a moment. The ninth Doctor turned to wink at Rose.

"And," continued the fourth Doctor, "when in close proximity to your Great Tree…" He waited as the ninth Doctor began to walk towards Rose, carrying the tree with both hands. "both trees will glow."

When the ninth Doctor was only a few yards from where Rose hung (still), a soft golden light seemed to illuminate from within both trees. The ninth Doctor let the trees glow for a full minute, keeping his own eyes locked onto Rose's, before he pulled away, back to where the fourth Doctor stood.

The prairie dogs clapped. One of them went scampering off, and disappeared down a nearby hole.

"So is that good? Can we have Rose and K-9 back, so we can leave?"

The one prairie dog that had left, returned with a full squad of prairie dogs who skillfully began to untie Rose and K-9.

"I can tell that the Great Tree is very happy. Yes, you can leave." The remaining prairie dog from the original pair said. He then waved a paw, as if to shoo them off.


	6. Chapter 6

Prairie Dogs Gone Wild!

By futbalfreak18 (a.k.a. baka ranger red)

With help from baka rangers blue and yellow

Guess what! Yeah, still no claim.

* * *

As soon as Rose's feet touched the ground, she felt dizzy. Yes, there was much, too much blood in her head. She stood still for a moment, and slowly her sense of balance came back to her. She desperately wanted to rush to her Doctors, but instead Rose sprinted straight into the TARDIS. K-9 followed soon after, along with the Doctors and their bag of stuff.

The fourth Doctor went straight to the TARDIS counsel and sent them traveling again, as the ninth Doctor went to Rose. She was sitting on the floor, her back against the counsel.

"How are you feeling, Rose? Are you all right?" the ninth Doctor asked, worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She paused. "But you knew that the tree was what they'd want, why didn't you just start with that? And why did it glow? And does that bag of your work like the TARDIS? And why was only one of you talking? An-"

Rose was cut off as the ninth Doctor leaned in and kissed her.

"I think there's still too much blood in your head" he said.

Rose just smiled, happy again. So what if she'd just been a prisoner to prairie dogs and hung upside down for too long? She was with her Doctors again.

The fourth Doctor joined them on the floor, sitting cross-legged.

"So now, to answer all your questions as quickly as possible" the ninth Doctor continued. "First, good stuff looks better after bad stuff. Glow? Those weren't ordinary trees; they're distant cousins of the more civilized brand we met when we saw the end of the Earth remember? The 'Great Tree' was lonely, so we brought it another lonely tree, and they were happy so they glowed. Yes. I lost at rock, paper, scissors. And?" He stopped, a little breathless having spoken without pausing or breathing.

"And?" Rose replied.

"You had one more question, right?"

"Oh. Actually, I have two." She smiled and held up two fingers. "First, why wasn't there a chase scene? Or a battle? I feel kinda let down…"

The fourth Doctor spoke before the ninth Doctor. "Not every adventure has an exciting conclusion. Diplomacy can work. Sometimes. On occasion. Maybe."

He smiled.

She pouted.

"Ok, ok." The ninth Doctor broke in. "How about this. Since this adventure didn't fix your action addiction, we'll go to Barcelona next. Y'know, dogs with no noses." He grinned broadly. "You can't go to Barcelona and leave without having some action. Maybe a chase scene in hot cars. Or-"

"And your last question?" the fourth Doctor interrupted.

"Well, its not so much a question as a demand" Rose replied.

Both Doctors had questioning frowns splayed across their faces. She kissed them both lightly, got up, and disappeared further into the TARDIS.

The two Doctors looked at each other.

And raced off after their beloved.

It wasn't until much later that anyone ever noticed the words, "Bad Wolf", carved into the base of the tree the Doctors had brought to the prairie dogs.


End file.
